Just a reminder....this is the time of year to take care of your trophies/trophy room. With the onset of cold weather bugs tend to move into heated spaces, ie...your house. Such bugs that can be super destructive to mounts are carpet beetles, mites, weevils, etc. Bugs like this can chew on the pedicles of the hair ends on mounts, most of the time completely unseen until it is too late, causing bare spots secondary to hair loss. Areas that are notorious for this damage is around the eyes, nose, and especially the pedicles around the antler/horn bases. Let face it, at the end of the day your trophy is a persevered piece of jerky and its an inviting spot to bugs looking for some leather snacks. I've seen/heard of damage occurring from ANY household or location, doesn't matter if you believe your house is well sealed up or not.
Therefore, this is a good time of year to inspect, clean, and bug bomb your areas containing your memorable trophies. Use a lightly damp cloth and wipe down animals in the direction the hair, stay away from the eye, nose, and mouth areas with any moisture; use a dry cloth or keyboard air-can for that. Wipe down antlers and horns first with damp cloth. Use either a commercial antler/horn conditioner or even a cloth sprayed down with WD40 will work great as well. This restores luster and oils to dehydrated antler/horn material. Just keep it away from the hair. Finally, bug-bomb your trophy area. I've used quite a few different brands, and I really like Hot Shot Fogger with Odor Neutralizer, pic below. It gets into hard to reach areas, smells good, doesn't leave a residue, and is long lasting. Just don't hang around in the area after you spray for a few hours! I bomb the shop/studio every other month with this product, just a precaution, especially in working with my flesh eating bugs (in a different building on the property, but still....)
Additional three things that are horrible for mounts....Smoke, direct sunlight, and moisture....just fyi.
Good taxidermy with PROPER tanning techniques and care of your mounts will make them last a lifetime. Best of luck to everyone in the upcoming rifle season!
Joel/BlackRiver Taxidermy